Short answer
Only some Student visa holders can bring a partner or children as dependants. Since the rules were tightened from 1 January 2024, most students, including nearly all taught undergraduate and taught master’s students, can no longer bring dependants at all. You will only qualify if you fall within one of two narrow categories.
Who can bring dependants
You can apply to bring your partner and children only if you are one of the following:
1. A government-sponsored student on a course that lasts longer than 6 months.
2. A full-time student on a postgraduate level course of 9 months or longer that is a PhD or other doctorate (RQF level 8) or a research-based higher degree, where the course starts on or after 1 January 2024.
If your course started before 1 January 2024, the older and more generous rule may apply, which permitted dependants for full-time postgraduate courses (RQF level 7 or above) of 9 months or longer more broadly. The key date is when your course started, so check your Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies.
The practical effect of the January 2024 change is that a taught one-year master’s student who is not government sponsored generally cannot bring dependants, whereas a PhD or research degree student can.
Who counts as a dependant
A dependant is one of the following:
Your husband, wife or civil partner.
Your unmarried partner, where you can show you have been living together in a relationship similar to marriage or civil partnership for at least two years before you apply.
Your child under 18, including a child born in the UK during your stay. Children aged 18 or over can sometimes qualify if they are already in the UK as your dependant.
Key requirements to be aware of
Relationship evidence. You must prove the relationship, for example a marriage or civil partnership certificate, a birth certificate for each child, or, for an unmarried partner, evidence of at least two years of cohabitation such as joint tenancy agreements, bills or bank statements.
Financial requirement. You normally need to show additional funds for each dependant, held for a continuous 28-day period. As a general guide the maintenance amounts are higher for study in London than outside London, and the figures are set per dependant per month for up to nine months. Check the current amounts on GOV.UK before applying because these figures are updated.
Care of children. If you have a child under 18, both parents must normally be lawfully in the UK, or you must show you are the sole carer or have sole responsibility, or there are serious reasons why the child must come.
Timing. Dependants can apply at the same time as you or later. They can apply from outside the UK or, if eligible, switch or extend from inside the UK.
Children born in the UK
A child born in the UK while you are here does not automatically become a British citizen. If you want to travel in and out of the UK with the child, you should apply for a dependant visa for them, providing a full UK birth certificate showing both parents’ names.
What dependants can do
A dependant partner can usually work in the UK, including full-time, although not as a professional sportsperson. Dependant children can study. These conditions can change, so confirm the current position on the visa decision and on GOV.UK.
Practical next steps
1. Check exactly which category your course falls into and its start date, using your CAS and your university’s guidance, to confirm whether dependants are permitted at all.
2. If you qualify, gather relationship evidence and the required financial documents held for the full 28-day period.
3. Confirm the current maintenance amounts and application fees, and the Immigration Health Surcharge payable per dependant, on GOV.UK, as these figures change regularly.
4. Have each dependant apply online, either alongside your application or afterwards, and be ready to attend a biometrics appointment.
Where this depends on missing facts
The answer turns on the level and start date of your course, whether you are government sponsored, and the nature of your relationship. If you tell me your exact course, its RQF level, its start date, and whether you are government sponsored, I can tell you more precisely whether your partner and children are eligible and what evidence you will need.
This answer draws on broad legal knowledge and checks current law, guidance and procedure against relevant sources.
Student visa : Your partner and childrengov.ukImmigration Rules - Immigration Rules: Appendix Student - Guidance - GOV.UKgov.ukStudent visa : Overview - GOV.UKgov.ukTough government action on student visas comes into effect - GOV.UKgov.ukKNOW WHERE YOU STAND
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